While watching a recent NASCAR race a friend asked about strange team/car sponsors. I read an article in the Orlando Sentinel that reported the toilet paper manufacturer, Charmin, was a part sponsor of the Coca Cola 600 held at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this season. Reporter En Fuego mentions something about wiping the slate clean. That got me wondering about other NASCAR sponsorships. I found a few amusing ones. I’ve ranked them in reverse order, twelfth through first. Here they are:
12) Tide – Not only was it a great laundry detergent but Rickey Rudd had some very successful seasons driving the #10 Ford sponsored by Tide. Daryl Waltrip also had a nice little run with the #17 Tide car. Tide’s biggest impact though came at the 2012 Daytona 500 when it was used to clean up jet fuel on the race track following Juan Pablo Montoya’s memorable crash into a jet dryer.
11) Spam – I don’t know of anyone who knows exactly what the ingredients are that make up Spam. I also don’t know why anyone would want to know. Mike Wallace was a recipient of Spam money in the Nationwide series.
10) Hellava Good Dip! – I’ve walked by the aisle in a store and often seen little ones giggling over the name of this Hellava Good Dip. I’ve been to lucky enough to attend races where the entire event has been named after this delicious snack, often with free samples given away.
9) Claber Girl Baking Powder – Steve Reeves drove the #96 Ford Thunderbird in the Nationwide series. Perhaps Claber Girl was a big racing fan?
8) Cartoon Network – Well, who doesn’t love Cartoons? Fred Flintstone ran on the side with Lake Speed on the #9 car.
7) Redneckjunk.com – NASCAR was so concerned about their image they actually made Derek Cope remove this sponsor from his car. Redneckjunk was so interested in joining NASCAR that they actually changed the name of the company to RJunk.com.
6) Kim Kardashian Fragrance – Something about perfume and NASCAR not exactly being a fit, huh? Mike Bliss probably lost a bet to have to wear this sponsor. I wonder if the other 42 cars were fighting over who would put her into the wall first.
5) Muppets – Kermit and Miss Piggy were actually banned from the 1992 Chicago race. As an advertisement for the Muppets new movie they were scheduled to sponsor Dale Jarret’s car. But since Tropicana, the sponsor of the race was not involved in the promotion, Chicago Speedway would not allow them onto the track. Kermit was banned from a NASCAR race. Wow!
4) Lovable (Bras) – I wonder how anyone thought this was a good “fit” for NASCAR. Tammy Jo Kirk was sponsored by the makers of bras for 15 Camping World Truck races in 1997.
3) Viagra – Cue the jokes. Mark Martin, one of the elder statesman of NASCAR drove the #6 Viagra car. The lines at the souvenir hauler for his car at NASCAR events are always among the longest of any. I wonder if he races for over 4 hours if he must seek medical attention.
2) Depends Adult Diapers – Really? I guess like the rest of the world, NASCAR fans are aging as well and who the heck want to miss any of the action by taking a restroom break. OK, maybe this WAS a good idea. I can see the Saturday Night Live Crew sponsoring a future car in the future with an “O0ps! I Pooped my Pants” car.
1) Boudreavx’s Butt Paste (It’s not just for diaper rash anymore.) – Yep, Jeremy Clemens had the honor of wearing this sponsor on his car. I guess it really goes hand and hand or should I say butt and butt with Depends.
After a week off we move on to Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400. My picks:
- Jeff Gordon
- Tony Stewart
- Jimmie Johnson
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Main Photo Credit: 2012books.lardbucket.org, CC
